


Notable Absence

by Rookmoon



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adorable, Flowers, Fluff, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 09:59:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18870931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookmoon/pseuds/Rookmoon
Summary: This guy in a green jumpsuit has been training close to your favorite tree so often that you get used to hearing him in the small clearing close by.You don't expect him to up and disappear for a few days, and you definitely don't expect what comes after.





	Notable Absence

You had always admired that ninja with the green jumpsuit. He worked so hard, all the time. It didn't matter if it was rain, shine, sleet or hail. (Not that it hailed often, but you could see him training through that as well.) He was always in the field close to your favorite place to lounge around. You were content to watch from your place in the trees while he worked from dawn until dusk. At least, you were on the days that you didn't have anything else that needed to be done. That didn't stop you from going to your favorite spot whenever you could.

Every once in a while, another ninja would show up. This guy looked just like your green ninja. By the shouting, you learned that he was called 'Guy Sensei'.

Their conversations were how you found out your stubborn ninjas name. Lee.

At first, you resented Lee simply because he had essentially taken over your peaceful place, but after a few weeks of his noise and rambling about 'The Power of Youth' and his constant movement, you realized that you didn't really mind. It didn't have anything to do with you in the first place.

Sometimes when you got especially bored, you would look in on his training. Watching him made you actually want to do something. His movements were mesmerizing. You could watch him all day long, and you had for at least a week.

His routine never wavered, and he was always warmed up an hour before dawn.

Until one day, he wasn't.

That strange boy who looked a little bit like a frog wasn't there.

The wind blew through the grass like he had never existed, but you were watching and you knew.

You watched the empty field, leaning against the trunk of your tree. You weren't sure what you were looking for. Maybe you were waiting for that familiar streak of forest green to cut through the trees. Maybe you weren't waiting for anything at all. Maybe you were thinking about why he wasn't there, and why that seemed so important to you now that he wasn't there.

It still felt so strange. Even as you turned to face the sky, you still found yourself glancing toward the silent clearing. You passed the time thinking to yourself.

Was he okay? Did he go missing? Should you go look for him? There wasn't really any way you could do that, but should you try? Would he notice if you went missing the way you did for him if you were to go? Did he even know you were there while he trained every day? Did that make you a creep? You were here first, after all. Maybe that made a difference. It doesn't matter anymore anyhow.

Was it strange to think that you miss someone that you don't actually know? It's it odd to think that you might have taken the sound of him training for granted?

You may have. Now the only sounds that fill the air are from birds, bugs and the breeze.

By early afternoon, you sorely missed the thunk of fists hitting wood, or the counting, and ever more difficult punishments he would inflict on himself if he were unable to reach the ridiculous number of repetitions he had set.

You left shortly after lunch. It was just too quiet today. It was making you restless. The rest of your time was spent doing some training of your own, and doing other things that you might have been avoiding before. Like paperwork.

It was like this for the next three days. You would go to your usual place and wait in the trees for three hours until you decided that there were better things to spend your time on than a guy that wasn't going to show up. Even though you told yourself that, you kept going back. You started to wonder if he was ever going to go back to that little field.

The next time you saw that Lee, he was walking into the village with a pack and a team of three others.

A mission. Of course it was a mission. Nothing else would have kept him from his training for so long… unless he was injured... But he was fine. There was nothing to worry about.

When you went back to your place in the trees the very next day, he was out there again. Your usual routine went on for another week, and so had Lee's.

Did he ever rest? You had no idea.

He probably should. With the way he works himself, you're surprised that he hasn't gotten sick from overexertion yet.

With that thought in your mind, you jump from the tree and walk towards him.

"Hey!" You wave at him with a friendly smile.

"Oh, hello!" He calls your name. Lee gives you a blinding smile and waves back. "Have you finally come to join me in my training?"

So he had known you were there the whole time, and he knew your name on top of that.

"Unfortunately not. I was just going to grab some food. Do you want to join me?"

"Ah, that sounds like a wonderful idea! Where are you thinking of going?"

"How about that BBQ place? I hear they've got some really good food."

So, you found yourself in front of a hot grill and a plate of meat waiting to be cooked. Lee was sitting across from you with his own food. He looked more than ready to chow down, and you could hardly wait.

"So…" Lee said, swallowing a mouthful of juicy pork, "why have you been watching me train for the last few months?"

You almost choked on your second bite of that wonderfully tender meat. You coughed and swallowed before it went down the wrong way. "How did you know I was there?"

"A hah! So you admit that you've been watching my youthful training! I knew there was a reason you wanted to eat with me. You must have noticed how passionate and youthful I am!"

"It's kinda hard to miss it when you're out there in the middle of a storm talking about how you've got to do three hundred laps around the village if you can't do five hundred pushups."

"You heard that over the thunder? You must have been close by, unless you have amazing ears."

"Hmm?" You thought for a second, taking the chance to swipe another slice of meat. "My hearing isn't excellent, but I am a ninja…" you just like to hang out in a tree right next to where he trains is all.

"Are you the one that's always in the tree?"

Speaking of… "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Yosh! I was right!" He pulled a first towards him, and his eyes shone brightly. "I knew someone was there! There were always a few branches that would move more than others when I would train there. I knew there had to be someone close by!" He paused, blinking at you. "Why were you there all the time anyways?"

"That's my favorite place to relax. I used to hide out there when I was a kid, and it turned into a safe place for me. When you started training there, I didn't feel like finding a new favorite spot."

"That does make sense. I have a place like that as well. Being there helps me think."

"Yeah? Where's your safe place?"

"It's a balcony that Guy Sensei took my team to when we were first made genin."

You nodded, and in the short silence that followed, you finished your plate of meat.

Lee's eyes unfocused as he thought about something. You weren't sure if he was staring at you or into space where you happened to be. He snapped it of it when the smell of grilled meat got to him, and continued eating as well.

After the meal, Lee insisted on walking you home, explaining that it would be the right thing to do.

He left you at your doorstep and faded into the night once he knew you were safely inside.

You spent that night wondering if you were imagining the way he watched you. Maybe his meal with you was nothing more than just that. Maybe you had imagined his strong gaze on you.

You rolled under your blankets, wondering if there was really something there.

The next morning, you found flowers dangling on a string outside your front door. There was a leaf and a scrap of paper tied to the flowers with a drawn picture of a beast. You weren't sure what it meant, but you ended up rooting around your apartment for a vase anyhow.

Ten minutes of searching landed you with an old mason jar, and wanting a new place for all your change. It could hang out on your dresser until you can get your hands on something else. You'd go look for either a vase or something else for your coins.

The flowers looked really nice in that jar, which you thought was just a little bit funny. Maybe you would keep the flowers in there. They looked good. It doesn't really matter what you keep them in. It's the thought that counts.

By the time you had gone to get something for your coins and gotten back home to put them away, the day was halfway done.

The market had been crowded, and you had found a deal that satisfied your tastes and your budget after a good long look at everything available.

When you reached the clearing and climbed to your usual spot in the tree, you noticed that something was different. Lee was gone again, and there's a kunai stuck in a tree with a wire leading into the forest where you would usually rest. Nothing like this had happened before. Curiosity fought with logic on following a trail set by someone you didn't know. You'd like to know who's been keeping a close enough eye on you to know about your special place, but you can't exactly ignore the danger that taking that action might put you in.

Curiosity won out, and you followed the line carefully. You stayed a small ways away from the wire just in case, and kept your senses peeled for anyone that might try to sneak up on you.

The wire bent around trees and hooked over branches, leading you further into the forest that you had grown up exploring.

There were no traps to be found the whole way there. If anything, it was more like a pleasant stroll through the treetops than anything else. The end of the wire was stuck to another kunai knife and wedged into another tree. It was at the edge of a clearing that wasn't so familiar to you. The boy that was standing in the far side, close to a cluster of bushes, was very familiar. Lee turned towards you with that determined look you knew so well. He had one hand hidden behind his back.

"I see you have followed the trail I have left for you!"

"I figured it must be a friend. There weren't any traps along the way." You laughed, and walked into the light of the clearing. "There's just one thing I don't understand."

Lee cocked his head to one side. "Oh?"

"Why did you leave a trail all the way out here?"

"I wanted to ask you something important to me, but I didn't want it to be at your safe place, so I brought you here."

"What did you want to ask?"

Lee screwed up his face, and approached you. He didn't stop walking until he was standing right in front of you. "I would like to ask you if you would date me. I want to be someone important to you, as you are important to me!"

"You know Lee, you went on a mission around a week ago. I didn't realize it until then, but you already are important to me."

"Does that mean…?" Hope shone on his features. It suited him well.

"Yeah, it does." You chuckled at him, and held out your hand. "Let's go back. We've got some training to do, don't you think?"

"Yosh!" Lee's blinding smile turned towards you, and again he turns towards to string of wire that lead out of the unfamiliar grounds. "Let's do it!"

You followed him out of the clearing, ready to take on a new part of your life with him.

Until he stopped on a dime and turned to face you so fast that you bumped into him. "Ah, I almost forgot. Would I be able to give you something?" He held his other hand up. There was a simple flower there. One that was in the bouquet that you had found dangling in front of your door this morning. He tucked the blossom behind your ear and pressed a soft kiss to your other cheek. You could feel your face heating up as he smiled, and pulled you along by your hand into a bright new future.


End file.
